The Arabian Nights Entertainments

The central core of the stories concerns a Persian king and his new bride. The king has a brother who is a vizier in faraway Samarcand, and he invites him to come to the palace for a visit. Just before his departure, the vizier is shocked to discover his wife's infidelity. Enraged, he kills her. Full of pain and grief, the vizier continues on to the court of his brother, the king. But, once arrived at his brother's palace, the vizier soon discovers the king's wife is also involved in an even more flagrant infidelity.

Tales from the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night: A Plain and Literal Translation of the Arabian Nights Entertainments

Bawdy and exotic, Tales from the Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night features the wily, seductive Scheherazade, who saves her own life by telling tales of magical transformation, genies and wishes, flying carpets and fantastical journeys, terror and passion to entertain and appease the brutal King Shahryar.

The Canterbury Tales [Audio Connoisseur]

If you want to understand the daily life and psychology of the Late Middle Ages, Neville Coghill's famous translation of The Canterbury Tales provides one of the very best means of doing so. Within its pages are to be found a broad range of society – high and low, male and female, rich and poor – who express their innermost beliefs and extravagant fantasies in a series of stories they tell as they make their way to Canterbury cathedral.

The Oedipus Plays: An Audible Original Drama

The three Theban plays by Sophocles - Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone - are one of the great landmarks of Western theatre. They tell the story of Oedipus, King of Thebes, who was destined to suffer a terrible fate - to kill his father, marry his mother, and beget children of the incestuous union. He does this unknowingly but still has to suffer terrible consequences, which also tragically affect the next generation.

When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their Children's and Household Tales in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel", "Hansel and Gretel", and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style.

The Enchiridion & Discourses

The Enchiridion is the famous manual of ethical advice given in the second century by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus. Born to a Greek slave, Epictetus grew up in the environment of the Roman Empire and, having been released from bonds of slavery, became a stoic in the tradition of its originators, Zeno (third Century BCE) and Seneca (first century CE).

Aesop’s Fables

These classic fables use simple allegories to convey universal truths. Though it is unkown if Aesop ever actually existed, dating back to the sixth century, BC, these fables are known in cultures throughout the world and have been translated into many languages.

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Here are the beloved adventures of the mischievous hero Robin Hood and his brave and merry band of outlaws, who forged a chivalrous code to protect the oppressed and despoil the oppressors. Follow along as Robin makes his breathtaking escapes from his archenemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham, while classic characters like Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, and Little John create one hilarious escapade after another.

The Kafir Project

Astronomer and TV science guy Gevin Rees just landed the interview of a lifetime with the world's most famous physicist. Remarkable, because the eccentric genius is notoriously reclusive, and he's already dead. What happens next forces Rees to run for his life from not one but two deadly assassins and global powers desperate to bury what he's just uncovered. Mind-blowing technology and solid evidence that would rewrite religious history and challenge the faith of billions.

Japanese Fairy Tales

Here are 22 charming Japanese Fairy Tales, translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki, including "My Lord Bag of Rice", "The Tongue-Cut Sparrow", "The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad", "The Farmer and the Badger", "The Shinansha, or the South Pointing Carriage", "The Adventures of Kintaro, the Golden Boy", "The Story of Princess Hase", "The Story of the Man Who Did Not Wish to Die", "The Bamboo-Cutter and the Moonchild", "The Mirror of Matsuyama", and more.

Don Quixote: Translated by Edith Grossman

Sixteenth-century Spanish gentleman Don Quixote, fed by his own delusional fantasies, takes to the road in search of chivalrous adventures. But his quest leads to more trouble than triumph. At once humorous, romantic, and sad, Don Quixote is a literary landmark. This fresh edition, by award-winning translator Edith Grossman, brings the tale to life as never before.

The Divine Comedy

Renowned poet and critic Clive James presents the crowning achievement of his career: a monumental translation into English verse of Dante’s The Divine Comedy. The Divine Comedy is the precursor of modern literature, and this translation - decades in the making - gives us the entire epic as a single, coherent and compulsively listenable lyric poem. Written in the early 14th century and completed in 1321, the year of Dante’s death, The Divine Comedy is perhaps the greatest work of epic poetry ever composed.

Siddhartha

Versatile actor Chris Hendrie breathes life into this poetical and allegorical novel and leads us on a profound spiritual journey to finding enlightenment. With a deep and compelling humanity, its young hero moves through self-discovery into self-knowledge, and finally into pure joy as he encounters the river of life. Published in 1922, this book has inspired millions worldwide.

The Metamorphosis: A New Translation by Susan Bernofsky

Franz Kafka's 1915 novella of unexplained horror and nightmarish transformation became a worldwide classic and remains a century later one of the most widely read works of fiction in the world. It is the story of traveling salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself transformed into a monstrous insect. This hugely influential work inspired George Orwell, Albert Camus, Jorge Louis Borges, and Ray Bradbury, while continuing to unsettle millions of readers.

The Ramayana

The Ramayana is one of the best-known epics in the world. It is the tale of Rama, the Prince of Ayodhya, who exiles himself to the forest for 14 years to honor his father's Word. In the forest, Rama, his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshmana, meet new friends and unusual foes, and each day brings new adventures. But Ravana of Lanka, the King of Demons, ruins it all by abducting Sita. To rescue her, Rama enlists the help of Hanuman and his monkey army.

Leaves of Grass

One of the great innovators in American letters, Walt Whitman created a daringly new kind of poetry that became a major force in world literature. Leaves of Grass is his masterpiece, written in a pure, uninhibited style, combining sensual and mystical sensibilities. Its bold, joyous voice, its expansive optimism, and its transcendental vision made it uniquely American.

The Song of Roland is acknowledged today as the first masterpiece of French vernacular literature and one of the world’s greatest epic poems. Written down around the year 1090, The Song of Roland finely crafted verses tell of the betrayal and defeat of Charlemagne’s beloved nephew at the Pass of Roncevaux in the Pyrenees and of the revenge subsequently sought on his behalf.

Audible Editor Reviews

The Arabian Nights assembles tales from centuries of Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian and Mesopotamian cultures in an enchanting collection whose varied characters, storylines, and methods of describing them have influenced modern genres as diverse as fantasy, science fiction, and detective fiction. The collection employs the frame tale of a woman staving off her execution by telling stories that leave her husband, the sultan, in such suspense that he continuously postpones the sentence. Suehyla El Attar embodies Scheherazade, performing the collection with a feminine wile, as well as enthusiastically voicing the gruff beasts and powerful heroes like Aladdin, Ali Ba Ba, and Sinbad the Sailor who make this audiobook such an intoxicating stimulant to the imagination.

Publisher's Summary

Full of mischief, valor, ribaldry, and romance, The Arabian Nights has enthralled readers for centuries. These are the tales that saved the life of Scheherazade, whose husband, the king, executed each of his wives after a single night of marriage. Beginning an enchanting story each evening, Scheherazade always withheld the ending: A thousand and one nights later, her life was spared forever.

The length and breadth of the stories is amazing. The combination of real and imaginary places, people, animals, and supernatural beings is dazzling. These stories are works of imagination of a high order. They also provide a great many insights into the Islamic world of the Middle Ages that created them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harun al-Rashid of course. He was the fifth Arab Abbasid Caliph. He ruled from 786 to 809. His reign make well have been the apogee of the Islamic Golden Age. He promoted Islamic art and music along with science and commerce.

Which scene was your favorite?

So many come to mind, it is hard to choose. The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor stand out. However, the tale of the Christian, Jew, and Muslim who all plead guilty to a murder they did not commit (to save someone else) is noteworthy as well.

Any additional comments?

This is both a good to great, and limited narration of the Arabian Nights. The single best feature of this narration is its length (11 hours and 35 minutes). The Arabian Nights is very large collection of stories of varying quality. However, even the very best stories still take many, many hours to narrate. Some of the other audiobooks narrating the Arabian Nights are just too short. This one is not.

Initially I was somewhat wary of a female narration. The stories are generally written from a male perspective and implied storyteller is almost always male. However, after listening to this audiobook, I can strongly recommend Suehyla El Attar's narration.

Others have suggested that this narration is not based on the Burton translations of the Arabian Nights (Lang is suggested as the source). This may or may not be true. However, the language does not appear to be Burton's. Most of the sex and violence has been authentically retained from the original stories. However, the Islamic character and context has been largely deleted. These are (mostly) stories from the Islamic Middle Ages and the Burton translation retained the pervasive Islamic environment of the stories. This version does not.

Let's start with the positive - the narrators voice was great - engaging - and pleasant.

Now for the bad.... the translation was so very PG13 that it made me feel dumb. The Burton version I have describes the wives betrayal in the garden ever so much differently that the audio book! I had to stop listening. It is NOT what I have read - and I just couldn't take it anymore!

Has The Arabian Nights turned you off from other books in this genre?

No.

What does Suehyla El Attar bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Anybody who enjoys cliffhangers without resolution, which is to say, nobody. This translation not only is missing many stories, but the stories themselves have been left unfinished.

Has The Arabian Nights turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not at all, however, it has made me look closer at fellow reviewers and do more research on translations before buying. Also, it would help if the correct translation was listed in the item description

How could the performance have been better?

If the performer had read from the correct translation

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger and curiosity, I will now be buying the print version of the Lyons translation in order to hear all of the stories and find out what happens in "the porter and the three ladies of baghdad"

Any additional comments?

Please correct the item description so that it states translation by Lang